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| A.S.Preman, Perungeli Chira, Vaikam |
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A.S.Preman, Perungeli Chira, Vaikam devised the rope trick to immobilize elephants under rut only out of love for them. For 2 decades ago, when he was a mahout at the Poabsons, Thiruvalla, the common method to control elephants was to shoot them with tranquilizers made from tobacco.
He observed how such elephants died a painful death soon after. It was this that prompted him to devise the harmless rope method to bring the elephants under control.
The operative part of the trick is a rope with a knot at one end. The middle of the rope is taken around a tree and the other end is held by a few men. The elephant is enticed to step into the knot by throwing bananas. As soon as it steps into the knot, the waiting men pull from the other end. As the elephant tries to pull back, the knot becomes tighter and tighter.
And if the pachyderm's attempt is to rush to the rope troubling him, it can do no harm to the operators as the direction of the rope is opposite to them.
With this simple yet effective rope trick, he has been able to save the lives of many elephants as well as mahouts.
Courtesy: G.Hasthamalakan (text), Shihab (photo), Sree, Malayala Manorama, March 2, 2003
Contributed by: Administrator
